Alkermes Participates in President’s Commission Meeting on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis

Alkermes plc (NASDAQ: ALKS) participated in the Third Meeting of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis held yesterday in Washington, D.C. The Commission was formed to study the scope and effectiveness of the Federal response to drug addiction and the opioid crisis and to make recommendations to the President for improving that response. Alkermes CEO Richard Pops joined government, nonprofit, and business organizations at yesterday’s meeting to testify in support of the Commission’s ongoing effort to discuss innovative solutions to address the opioid crisis. The purpose of yesterday’s meeting was to review education efforts, treatment options and measures to prevent diversion.

“Alkermes is honored to be included in this important national dialogue. We are encouraged by the level of engagement by senior policymakers and public health officials to evaluate the treatment status quo and consider new treatment approaches to help address the opioid epidemic,” said Richard Pops, Chief Executive Officer of Alkermes. “At a moment when healthcare accessibility and affordability are in the spotlight of our national dialogue, Alkermes is providing patient-centered treatment options to those afflicted by addiction and serious mental illness. We have been committed to these patients for many years, and are proud to be working with healthcare providers, public health officials and policymakers to address these devastating diseases that wreak havoc on patients, their families and in our communities.”

Please click here to read a corporate statement on the testimony.

About Opioid Dependence
A chronic brain disease, opioid dependence is characterized by cognitive, behavioral and physiological symptoms in which an individual continues to use opioids despite significant harm to oneself and others.1 The use of heroin, an illegal opioid drug, and the non-medical use of FDA-approved opioid analgesics, including prescription pain relievers, represents a growing public health problem in the U.S. According to the 2014 U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 2.3 million people aged 18 or older were dependent on pain relievers or heroin in the U.S.2

About Alkermes
Alkermes plc is a fully integrated, global biopharmaceutical company developing innovative medicines for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases. The company has a diversified commercial product portfolio and a substantial clinical pipeline of product candidates for chronic diseases that include schizophrenia, depression, addiction and multiple sclerosis. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Alkermes plc has an R&D center in Waltham, Massachusetts; a research and manufacturing facility in Athlone, Ireland; and a manufacturing facility in Wilmington, Ohio. For more information, please visit Alkermes’ website at www.alkermes.com.

1 DSM-IV-TR, American Psychiatric Association.

2 SAMHSA. Behavioral Health Trends in the United States: Results from the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Accessed on Sept. 28, 2017 from http://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-FRR1-2014/NSDUH-FRR1-2014.pdf.

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